Kapler: Nola a 'silent leader that players look up to'

In the games before and after their four-game sweep of the Giants, the Phillies blew two one-run 9th inning leads. 28-year-old closer Hector Neris is struggling.

"In a perfect world, you have a guy you have a ton of confidence in -- like we do in Hector Neris -- and you can throw him out there in any situation," Kapler told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show during his weekly Wednesday 9am call in, when asked about how he handles the closer position.

"We said, we always wanted to use our most effective relievers in the most important moments of the game and we didn't want to be married to having one reliever for one inning."

On the other hand, starting pitcher Aaron Nola is on fire. He's second in the NL with six wins and fourth in the NL with a 1.99 ERA.

"We all think that the changeup and the curveball are plus, plus pitches. His command of the fastball is really exceptional, so he has three pitches to work with any given night. And, the most important factor, is his toughness. He's just a competitor, he's just a grinder. He wants the ball in his hands late in games. He's gonna fight for it, he's gonna prepare like nobody else, he's a quiet leader, a silent leader, and one that all of our players look up to."